Two more teas from Tea Side, following an exceptional example of small-batch shu pu'er. They're probably the best online source for specialty Thai teas, but then it helps that it's hard to think of a second example. I can think of others, but there is no other Western-facing, sales portal based, broad selection, high quality tea outlet. For value their range varies more, but then supply and demand can work out like that. If they're selling something that barely exists the cost might end up being whatever it happens to be. If there is no market rate to reference you can't really identify a typical price in relation to a quality level.
That is how I tend to define value, as price in relation to quality level. Another related distinction that comes up is teas I can afford in comparison to versions that I feel I can't. I cut off price per gram fairly low, as tea enthusiasts go, because I'm living off a Thai salary (a professional manager's version, but still), and I'm raising kids, in Honolulu at that. I don't buy 50 cent or $1 per gram teas, ever. Even a quite-standard 30-35 cent a gram range I avoid. If you live in South East Asia and know the ins and outs of local tea sourcing you can still drink pleasant, good quality, interesting teas while spending less, but for others seeking out what's online in the Western market that's not the same. Your own trade-off would fall wherever it happens to.
I've tried their Gui Fe before, and it was exceptional. I've never tried another version of Gui Fe from Thailand, but even if I had the quality level of theirs would make for a really high bar to clear. It's described, and in my understanding actually is, a rolled variation of Oriental Beauty.
Both of these are variations of Oriental Beauty. That name is sometimes avoided by vendors now, as it is missing on these labels, because "oriental" is now typically regarded as pejorative, as negative and insulting, like "indians" is in relation to Native Americans. I'm not sure that's fair. It's an old term, that had been used for a long time to simply mean "Asian." Then racist connotations were eventually paired with the general Asian theme and image, but I'm not sure the term Oriental played much of a role in that. Either way it was largely swept aside. What could be the problem, since this happens all the time, routine changes in language use?
Business names in the East and West were using that term, and some of them can't switch off it as easily. A main Bangkok hotel is called the Oriental, a central landmark, and they're not going to change that name. I've been here in "the orient" since that changeover occurred, about 15 years ago, and people here still aren't clear on the change. Political correctness is an American theme; it doesn't apply in Thailand. And their primary language is Thai, so keeping up with changes in English use isn't necessarily a priority for them.
For that tea type it already had a few names, so that doesn't matter. Many vendors went with something like Eastern Beauty, or the Chinese name would work, Dongfang Mei Ren. I think there was another name too, Bai Hao, but this could get complicated in relation to Bai Hao Yin Zhen, silver needle white tea.
Anyway, these teas are quite familiar, except for the hybrid theme of the Dongfang Mei Ren being white tea. That's a name for the Taiwanese oolong style (which has been produced in Thailand for awhile as well). We'll see how that works out in the tasting notes. I'll add vendor descriptions and links after the tasting, not that it would change much reading that first. I'd probably notice exactly what the vendor did for flavors, if I did read that first, where my interpretation will be similar but different if I didn't. He might say the white version tastes like raspberry, then I might try it and mention another fruit tone instead, when really either make for a decent interpretation.
Let's check the vendor listings to see what Tea Side has to add.
2024 Dongfang Meiren White Tea ($17.80 for 50 grams; sounds fine)
This Dong Fang Mei Ren is unusual—it’s made without roasting, in the style of white tea. Just the sun, just the bitten leaves—only hardcore!
[I edited out a part about cold-brewing it, but that approach would work].
Hot brews reveal an equally delicate infusion, with a distinct honey profile and a subtle melody of fruit caramel. There’s also a light aroma of teakwood, reminiscent of sheng pu-erh. But honey takes center stage here—rich, unfiltered, and in full bloom...
Like a true white tea, the liquor starts off pale, almost colorless, and gradually deepens into amber—another trait that sets it apart from classic Dong Fang Mei Ren Oolong.
It's made out of TRES #17 Ruan Zhi (plant type), also sometimes called Bai Lu, and the other version is as well. Interesting!
2024 Gui Fei Premium Oolong Tea ($16 for 50 grams; again not bad for this tea quality)
I can confidently say this is one of the most powerful classic Gui Fei oolongs we’ve ever sold.
By “classic,” I mean: pure, well-bitten material (easy to recognize by its flavor intensity, profile, and steeped leaves); oxidized more than light oolongs but without crossing into “red water” territory.
Tasting Notes
Rinsed leaves explode with a fruity mix, led by a bright strawberry note on a dense honey background. The tea is fresh, and its melody reminds me of wild Thai honey.
The sharp honey note, the one that always present in well-bitten material, is absolutely mind-blowing here. You’ll recognize it instantly as soon as you start inhaling the aroma.
The long-lasting aftertaste deserves special mentioning, it brings caramel and chocolate candy tones plus that velvety honey sensation on the palate.
Excellent endurance to multiple infusions, as expected from premium quality. The liquor is smooth, soft, and sweet.
It was pretty good. I had trouble breaking down the flavors, because it was pretty complex, and the two together were a lot to take in, but then again interpretations always vary anyway.
Review:
DFMR #1: it's just great, pretty much what I expected. It's a little light because I don't usually add time to the first infusion to account for the leaves just getting wet, trying it light first, and I tried to back off my typical 8 or 9 grams per 100 ml gaiwan proportion, which is often a little excessive, going with 6 or 7 instead. For a combined tasting I won't get to the end of the story as it is, trying 5 or 6 rounds, then not passing on how the next few go. [After going through a session this might be half the packages instead, 7.5 or 8 grams, by the looks of it].
Flavors are in typical DFMR / OB range, including cinnamon and plenty of warm fruit, with this also quite bright, covering warm dried fruit and lighter citrus tones. Sometimes people associate muscatel with OB too, beyond that being linked to types of Darjeeling more often, and I guess that works too. Complexity is good, sweetness is great, and feel is a bit rich even for it being so light. It's hard to pin down exactly how this is different from a regular oolong version.
It is a little light (in flavor character range), but then those don't absolutely have to be one oxidation level step away from black tea, as they often are. By appearance and some character range oxidation level is backed off in this, but then the warm tones tell the opposite story. It's hard to say.
Gui Fe: much darker in appearance; this may be oxidized more and also roasted, where the other may not be roasted at all, or at least not much. The flavor range overlaps some but it's quite different. A warm liqueur-like character emerges right away. It doesn't taste like cognac or brandy, but there's a part of that experience that carries over, an aromatic range theme. Maybe that is partly related to taste too. Then spice tone leans towards cinnamon, as in the other tea, but it's not as clearly that, not definitely and distinctly cinnamon.
Roast input is interesting. It doesn't come across as char, at all, but it seems like that input is pronounced. I checked again and this is a 2024 tea. If they had roasted this a bit too much a bit of char effect would come across, and then it might be better drinking it 2 or 3 years later after that had settled. In a year a tea could still change but it seems likely that they've nailed the roast input, that it never tasted burnt in the slightest. Maybe it did settle quite a bit though; who knows.
So we have spice, not exactly cinnamon, but close, a liqueur-like aromatic effect, which I've not described well in terms of seeming most associated flavor, and there's more going on than that. Sweetness and brightness doesn't match the other tea, but there is enough sweetness in this to balance the rest. It definitely doesn't come across as savory, but I might still decide that's part of it. I'll add more flavor list for both as I go.
DFMR #2: intensity bumps way up; I brewed this for nearly 30 seconds related to typing during that time, longer than it needed. It can be nice trying a tea strong to see it from a different angle. These teas would be quite pleasant brewed light, medium, or strong, just shifting character depending on that brewing time. To me "light" would be 10 seconds at a moderate proportion, and heavy is about this, 30 seconds or so.
Warm tones stand out a lot more, the cinnamon versus fresher and lighter dried fruit and citrus. It might switch back brewed light in a next round. Dried fruit range is close to dried apricot, with citrus folding in along with that, maybe tangerine peel zest. It might taste less like cinnamon and more like warm mineral, but it's still quite clean, balanced, and refined. For mouthfeel being this full, without significant astringency coming into play, the extra intensity relates to a heavier feel along your tongue. Aftertaste is more pronounced too, brewed stronger, but it's kind of a medium intensity effect in a sense. Or rather it's not necessarily strong, as sheng pu'er can be, at times stronger after you swallow than while tasting, but it does linger in duration. It's quite pleasant.
Gui Fe: this is a bit too strong; the extra intensity in it doesn't work as well with that long infusion time. It's standard practice to use stronger infusions to sort out flaws, part of why the standard approach to black tea tasting in places like India and Sri Lanka, plantation taste testing, overbrews teas, in comparison with typical drinking preferences. A bit of sourness stands out in this, made this way; I suppose that could be considered a flaw. If it balances quite well with the rest brewed more conventionally then it's not much of one, but if it stays in the balance at a significant level then it is. It's still good though; I'm not saying that.
The rest of the flavors are similar, but it seems as well to describe this more at an optimum, using a 15 second or so infusion time, and covering a more complete list next round. It goes without saying that these are the kinds of teas you don't throw out the last of while tasting, rushing to get to the next round. I typically don't, even for lower quality or less favorable teas, since I see it as disrespectful to the tea, but for this anyone would have the same reaction, and would drink the last drops.
DFMR #3: this really shines, brewed appropriately. Brighter citrus returns. This does seem closer to a muscatel designation than ever, even if I can never be sure I'm using that term right. It seems to correspond to a limited range of description of citrus tone, one that I explored quite a bit in drinking dozens of Darjeeling versions. Still, it's hard to say. Food flavors make it so easy because you try variations from time to time, and right there it is.
Brightness and lightness are pleasant in this. Maybe that's a big part of the difference from this being designated as oolong. In theory it should've also been exposed to less of a kneading / bruising step, I think, but then less might be more related to me guessing about processing. I don't make tea.
Cinnamon isn't evolving away, dropping out, but fruit dominates the experience at this round, and place in the transition cycle. It might be a little harder to place brewed lighter but the effect is still as intense.
Gui Fe: it balances much better. Either that sourness was either an effect of overbrewing the tea or it was the kind of flavor range that shows up early and drops out, as harsh edges can with sheng pu'er (if it has them). It's quite pleasant. Spice range is there but hard to isolate. That could be some type of incense related spice instead of cinnamon, maybe sandalwood. I think the fruit range is next, but again it's not framed in a distinct way, not easy to pin down. It all integrates. Roast / warm mineral tone input is there too, and mouthfeel corresponds to what one might expect of that, not really dry, but full in a different sense than the other, with the beginnings of what would seem like structure if it was stronger.
I think a bark spice might work as a decent interpretation, just not exactly cinnamon. Many years ago I went on a decade or two long tisane exploration phase, and encountered other barks used as tisanes then, that span a really interesting and pleasant range. I just can't remember any names of those, and certainly can't place an association with one.
DFMR #4: this might be a good place to leave off, because this runs long. I don't want to type 2000 words and readers wouldn't want to read that either. I'll only mention transitions and close this.
It might be getting slightly better, picking up depth and balancing better, but that's about it for changes. That's a great sign, because some other Thai OB I've tried can be pleasant, generally not quite this good, but tending to die early related to intensity, not making many good rounds. If this is still improving rather than fading the infusion count cycle should run long enough. Cinnamon and warmer tone stand out more this round; that's probably from me adding more time than last time, not from a transition change.
GF: liqueur-like character is really pleasant in this, but then that's not new. What I'm interpreting as either bark spice or incense spice--kind of repeating myself in that, since those incense spices probably are bark material based, or at least derived from aromatic woods--is as significant as before, and it makes this really stand out. I can't imagine anyone being put off by that, but some may feel more connection with it than others, a closer match to preference.
It's interesting considering if the first really is more of a warm weather tea, for being brighter in tone and flavor, and if the second would be more suitable for drinking when it's cool out. Maybe. It's hot as could be now, where I am, maybe close to 90 F (around 30 C), and humid as well, since I'm in Bangkok. Both are fine for me, but then it's a normal weather experience for me. Maybe that's part of why I like relatively young sheng though, with a brighter character, and cooler / cooling effect.
I shouldn't be dabbling in Traditional Chinese Medicine related commentary either; I know almost nothing about that.
The teas have been great. I'd highly recommend both. I suppose that I liked the Dongfang Mei Ren white a little more, the opposite of what I'd expected. It wasn't really that the second didn't meet my expectations, just that the first stood out more than I expected.
Producers can make a version of Oriental Beauty with positive flavor range often enough, but the flavors expressing that degree of novelty, refinement, and intensity isn't typical. Cinnamon and citrus flavors balancing like that is what seems to me to be a primary appeal of Oriental Beauty style teas.
The intensity mentioned in the Tea Side description of the Gui Fei was nice. As a sheng drinker oolongs can tend to be a little too soft and subtle, at times, with most white teas all the more so. Both of these expressed good intensity, but the Gui Fei might have hit a little harder in the sense of covering deeper and heavier range, with the DFMR lighter and brighter.
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